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Tuesday, August 26, 2014

One-pot Brown Rice and Snap Pea Stir Fry

Yesterday when I got home from the gym my sister was wonderful enough to have dinner ready for me! There was just one minor drawback-- she forgot that we decided on brown rice and made me brussel sprouts instead. It wasn't a huge deal at all but for those of you who plan your macros like I do, it can be hard to make little last minute adjustments like that. Sadly, brussel sprouts just weren't going to fit but luckily we had some brown rice on hand that doesn't take too long to make!

I love the quick-cook organic Basmati rice from Trader Joe's so it was a lifesaver when I had to make some rice last minute. The chicken was already made by my lovely sister and I had already planned on adding some snap peas to make myself a little rice bowl. As the rice was cooking, an idea occurred to me. Why don't I just make stir fry?Then even better yet, why don't I just make it all in this pan as the rice is cooking? I was pretty impatient at this point since I was starving and my muscles were still shaking so bad from my workout. I figured I had nothing to lose because even if this didn't work out I'd eat it anyway, I was pretty desperate for food at this point. Once the rice had been reduced to a simmer, I added my chopped up snap peas so that they could steam a bit. I added in some salt, pepper, and garlic powder too and let all that steam together. I probably put the snap peas in for the last 5 minutes, the rice only takes about 15 minutes total.

Once the rice and snap peas were fully cooked together, I added in the chicken, fresh garlic, soy sauce, and a dash of sesame oil. I kept the lid off and turned up the heat a bit to let the flavors all come together like I usually do for a stir fry. Yes it wasn't the traditional stir fry pan but the flavor was still pretty much the same!

It was really simple and quick, and I'm glad that it turned out well! I'll definitely try making more of my stir fry's similar to this. Usually I make my vegetables in a separate pan from the rice which just causes more dishes for me to clean up in the end. If I can improve a recipe that saves time and clean-up then I'm all for it.

Also: don't worry those brussel sprouts didn't go to waste! I made myself an egg white veggie scramble to have as lunch the next day and just subbed in the sprouts for my veggie. It turned out to be delicious!